The King's Queen
by GoodGurl
Summary: The second exciting chapter is up! The mystery continues! Riza and Falman head on to a bar where there is a lead for a possible suspect. It is rated M for later chapters.
1. Prologue

**The King's Queen**

"_**Wherever there is a grain of loyalty there is a glimpse of freedom."**_

_**ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE, **__**Ode to Mazzini**_

**Epilogue**

He held out his hand, revealing a small, red stone. She stared at it, mesmerized by the luster of stone that, she had just realized was engraved in the center of his left hand.

"Do you see now?" he asked, closing his hand.

She looked up at him, shifting her legs more comfortably on the floor. "No, I don't see. What is it am I supposed to see? That your purpose of killing innocent people justifies your reasoning of loyalty?" The thought of history repeating itself was unnerving, but she knew she had to make a decision soon. She knew he was the kind of man who would do anything for the sake of loyalty. Of course, it was all too familiar to her.

He crouched down beside her and grabbed the back of her hair and pulled it back so she was facing up. He stared down at her, his eyes enraged by her lack of understanding. Furious red eyes met unwavering brown ones."This stone solves everything I stand for!" he hissed in her ear. He let go of her hair and forced her head forward.

She winced and watched him carefully as he walked over to a single chair and table in front of her. He was in a deep thought, before he decided to sit on the chair and stare at the stone attached to his hand. "For a very long time, when I saw this stone in front of my hand, I knew it held an immense power. It took me a while to figure out what it was, but when I studied the history of Amestris, I knew it held greater power than I had ever imagined!" His head turned back to her and he stood up, his tall and muscular frame blocking the only light in the room. He was coming towards her now and as he did, she prepared for the worst. She could feel it. The danger was all too real.

He smiled and kneeled in front of her, leaning in close so they were face to face. His breath smelled like whiskey and garlic all mashed into one, but Riza knew better than intimidating the enemy in times of vulnerability. She felt a pinch on her shoulder. Suddenly, she felt hands roaming around her and they stopped right in front of the blouse of her shirt. He starts to unbutton her shirt, Riza's heart pounding mad. Both her hands and feet were bound and she was unable to move. It took her a moment to realize that the little pinch on her shoulder was some kind of drug and she felt paralyzed.

"It's okay," he purred. "I'll make you a woman, like you were meant to be." He grabbed her hair again and forced her lips into a kiss. Riza's eyes were glazing over, unable to focus. Her heart continued to pound, then she felt a sharp pain go into her abdomen. The sharp pain continued, tears falling from her eyes and a whimper came out of her lips.

Suddenly, it was all too unreal. She heard the sound of a blast coming from somewhere. The pain disappeared, but she felt cold. Riza fell on her back, unable to move and she curled up in a fetal position.

"NO! What are you doing!" she heard her enemy yell. Riza stayed frozen. She heard another blast and the man screamed in terror. Before long, she could feel a pair of arms around her and she was lifted up in safety. Riza closed her eyes, the drugs still affecting her. All she could remember was a very familiar voice calling her name.

"Roy…" she whispered, before passing out.


	2. Written in Blood

A/N: I apologize for making Riza going up a hefty rank. I should have researched the ranking before I decided to put it in. I have changed it. Riza is supposed to become a Captain, not Colonel. And to those who don't know, the point of a prologue is an introduction. It is meant to be short and not that long and not meant to be understood until you read later chapters that lead to Riza's predicament.

"_**It gives me strength to have somebody to fight for; I can never fight for myself, but, for others, I can kill."**_

― Emilie Autumn, The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls

**Chapter 1- Written in Blood**

A gust of wind nearly blew her off her feet as she made her way into Eastern Headquarters. Riza curled a strand of hair behind her ear, regretting the decision of growing her hair out again. More wind blew pass her and her golden strands of hair flew all around. She needn't bother since she was already inside.

Riza gave a sigh as she closed the door behind her, missing the stronger wind that flew by just in seconds. She shivered, but felt heat radiating from above as she straightened out her disheveled hair. The heater was on and she felt calmness all around her. As she walked down the hallway Riza was greeted by those of lower ranking, most of them very young. She was eventually greeted by her fellow officer and long time friend, Vato Falman at the very end of the hallway. He nodded and with a quiet disposition, greeted her very politely. Riza nodded and greeted him back.

Warrant Officer, Kain Fuery and First Lieutenant Heymans Breda joined in the greeting as well, their desks always facing each other. Riza sat down at her desk, right beside a brooding form sitting on the largest desk in the room. Sighing, she folded her arms across her chest and leaned back on her chair, watching from the corner of her eyes the man sitting there, hunched over his desk and moaning and the thousands of papers stacked up in front of him.

"Sir, you forgot to do your paperwork…." Riza said bluntly.

Roy opened one eye to his subordinate, frowning. "I'm a General. Why do I still have to do paperwork?" He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. Despite the hard work in making his way up to the rank of General, the paper work never escaped him. "What is the point of paperwork anyway?"

"Everyone has to do paperwork, sir. Even the Fuhrer has to." Riza stood up and made her way to Roy's desk and pulled out one sheet of paper from the very top of the stack. She gently placed it in front of the General and pointed at the very bottom of the page. "These are all requests of the people of Eastern Amestris on the things we need to improve on."

Roy looked down at the paper and began to read it quietly. Then, after a few moments, his eyes began to water, followed by screams of laughter. "Are you kidding me! These requests on the improvements are ridiculous!"

"Sir?"

Roy handed her the paper to read. He watched as she scanned the paper from top to bottom. She grew silent and after thinking about it for a while, Riza tossed the piece of paper into the recycling bin. _'Who on earth would request a big mall filled with swimming pools?' _she thought to herself.

"I saw that."

Riza came back to reality and blinked at her General. "Saw what, Sir?"

Roy shook his head. For the many years they have known each other, despite Riza's lack of emotions showing on her face, he knew her all too well. As she was reading that piece of paper for a request, he saw a little grin forming on her lips. But as quickly as lightning strikes, it disappeared for a split second.

Before Riza could make a respond, Falman quickly appeared, breathless from running to what looked like an urgent matter. "Sir!"

"What is it, Captain?"

Falman paused by his superior's desk and makes a quick salute before continuing. "Sir, there is trouble in the outskirts of town. Four people have been found dead on the scene by some of the residence."

The General thought for a moment. Since the reconstruction of Eastern Amestris, many have decided to take matters into their own hands. Some hope to make it into the military by showing off their alchemy skills and in the process, end up injuring or even killing innocent lives. "Captain Hawkeye," Roy finally said, looking up at Riza. "Would you please investigate this matter?"

"Sir," Falman interrupted. "I think you should see this…"

Roy looked at him curiously. He knew Falman all too well. There was a serious tone in his voice that Roy simply could not ignore. Without a moment's hesitation, he stood up and led the way out the door, followed closely by Riza and Falman.

* * *

It was a massacre. Falman explained the matter to Roy on their way to the scene of the crime. Four victims, four females lay dead on the ground, blood staining the wall red behind them. Other military personnel were there when they arrived, each wondering what to do next when they saw the car pull up. They all saluted as General Roy Mustang stepped out of the car with the female Captain not too far behind. Falman was the first on the scene and he led both Roy and Riza over to the bodies.

Falman reconfirmed with the General on what he had seen and pointed out something Roy had to see for himself. The General moved closer, squinting his eyes to see beyond the bright lights from the cars. Just beside the dark splatters of blood was something written, also with blood, _**"Bring me Roy Mustang." **_

"Any witnesses?" Roy calmly asked, turning to Falman without a second look at the writing.

Riza, however was studying the writing as close as she could. She kneeled in front of the bodies, carefully noting the four women dead on the ground. All four of them seemed to be around their 20's, probably around her age or younger. None of them seemed to have been raped or at least beaten just by the looks of it. It was odd that they were unharmed. These days when women were found dead, they were surely to have been raped first before murdered, but it didn't seem to be the case with these women. Forensics would have to take a look at it before she decided on her own. She leaned over and examined one of the victim's hands. There were traces of blood and skin under her nails, which told her this one fought back against her captive.

'_Good for you,'_ she thought, putting her hand back down. Then, from the corner of her eyes, she caught something that anyone would have missed. Written in the same traces of blood, but fading very fast was a transmutation circle.

There was something odd about the way the transmutation circle was drawn. Just by the strokes of the lines, Riza could tell the murderer was either left handed or his right arm was injured, perhaps from that victim who fought back. More of the transmutation circle didn't seem right. This told her, the murderer didn't know what he was doing and was guessing on how alchemy worked.

"Sir, this is one of the witnesses who reported the incident," Falman spoke, pulling beside him gently an attractive young woman. Riza stood up and studied the woman, joining her General to listen in on what the witness had to say.

Roy nodded at the young woman, his face changing from a serious look into a gentle one. "Hello. What's your name?" He held out his hand.

The young woman seemed scared to answer, but as she looked into Roy's eyes, she suddenly became calm and composed, ready to talk. She shook Roy's hand and responded, rather quietly, "My name is Arianne Schneider."

"What did you see, Arianne?"

Riza took out her small notebook and pen and got ready to write the details.

The young witness glanced at Riza, who gave her a reassuring nod and shook her head, turning her attention back to Roy. "I don't really know what happened, but as I was walking down pass this alley, I saw a tall man running out of it."

Roy nodded. "Can you describe what he looked like?"

Arianne thought for a moment, replaying in her mind what had happened just an hour before. "He was very tall, probably around six feet," she replied. "I think he had dark hair, or maybe brown. I wasn't sure, because when he bumped into me, I fell and he disappeared."

"What was he wearing?" this time, Riza asked.

"I think he had a long brown sweater on and dark jeans," was the young woman's only response.

"Thank you," Roy said, shaking her hand. "You can go now." He glanced at Falman and nodded. Falman guided the young woman from the throng of the military surrounding the crime scene and back into the main street so she could head on home. He joined Roy and Riza later as they headed back to headquarters.

Once they arrived back, Roy turned to Falman and said, "Captain Falman, once the forensics are finished with the bodies, I want you to get me their report right away." When Falman left, Roy sat back down on his desk and sighed. "Captain," he lifted his eyes up to Riza, who was now sitting at her desk. When he got her attention, he continued. "Did you see what I saw?"

Riza nodded wordlessly.

"A transmutation circle only means this man really wants my attention," Roy concluded. "He thinks that sacrificing innocent people, especially women, is what would force me to come to him." He stood up and walked over to the window, on time to see darkness settling in.

"Do you think he's a follower of Bradley?" Riza suddenly asked.

Roy thought for a moment. Fuhrer Bradley, unbeknownst to the rest of Amestris, was a Homunculi, made to be human in order to bear responsibility of other human lives. He was made to manipulate and cloud the judgement of the people of Central. This in turn, started the revolution of human sacrifice. Many innocent people who were caught up in the crossfire sought shelter and when the war was over, a lot of the residence of Central and even military personnel who worked for Bradley, fled to East Amestris. Some still hold the burden of being ridiculed by the Ishvalans, after they themselves have been mistreated by Central.

"I would not doubt that from what you heard around the city, someone or some people would be up against us to bring back the ideals of King Bradley," Roy replied. Despite Roy's efforts to improve East Amestris, prejudice among the new residence of the region and those who have lived there all their lives was a recurring problem. Ishvalans were a peaceful people, so Roy could not blame them for all the things other people have caused the former residences of Central to become withdrawn. And not all of those who live in East Amestris belonged to Ishval. East Amestris was a mixture of all kinds of people. It was only then when the prejudice started a year ago did the rumours of a revolution became a public statement to those who could not find solace in the city. There were talks of a secret group hiding somewhere in the sewers of the city ready to fly a banner with King Bradley's name on it. The East Military knew this information from front to back. They were informed constantly on these events that were happening in and around the East. "Sooner or later, this man who wants to see me very badly, would most likely target the next higher up in the military."

"That means Fuhrer Grumman could be in danger," Riza responded.

Roy shook his head. "You saw how he drew that transmutation circle?"

Indeed, Riza did. Roy was right. The murderer seemed like an amateur. This man thought he could just kill any innocent lives so he could bring back someone from the dead.

"When the transmutation didn't work after killing those four women," Roy went on. "He probably panicked and fled the scene before someone caught him. It's also a possibility that he could be working for someone else who is after me."

"When we get the results from forensics, we will know what happened," Riza suggested.

The General nodded, turning back around to face his Captain. "It's getting late and everyone else has gone home. We should get going."

Riza nodded.

* * *

_Click!_ The sound of a camera went off, but ever very lightly to avoid alarming the people a few feet away from him. Slowly, he watched as the General and his Captain made their way out the door from headquarters and into their car.

He smirked, putting his camera away, his eyes never leaving the blond female Captain who took her seat in the driver's side. He watched her carefully, eyeing every contours of her face, intrigued by her beauty. "Riza Hawkeye," he whispered, giving a slight nod of his head.

The car pulled away from the parking lot and into the main street of the city. The man stood up from his hiding place and winced at his injured right hand, cursing himself for being stupid as to allow a helpless woman fight back. Deciding that he wasn't going to let that bother him, he made his way to the nearest pub and perhaps hoping that some woman would treat him for some alcohol.

* * *

A/N: THERE! First chapter…DONE! I hope this was to your liking. I know it's slow paced, but that's usually how the suspense starts anyway. Please read and review! I don't remember much of Fullmetal Alchemist anymore so if my history is wrong on this, please forgive me!


	3. The Reckless Alchemist

A/N: Welcome back to reading on for the next chapter! Last chapter, we were introduced to the killer out either for vengeance or just anger towards Roy Mustang. It is believed he is an amateur alchemist or a follower of King Bradley. The mystery continues and on this chapter, stay tuned!

* * *

**_"...she could tell he was still holding on to the idea that this was his problem and he alone would have to bear it."_**

**Chapter 2 - The Reckless Alchemist**

A week later, more incidences occurred and it drew in fear for all of the people in East City. More victims appeared in alleyways and in backyards of abandoned homes where population was scarce and all of them were women. Roy was getting eager, at the point of obsessing over this investigation. The reports from the first four victims a week ago finally returned. Forensics had declared the murder and the ones that followed after that as reckless, just as Roy and Riza suspected. The body count was totalling close to forty and Roy was getting irritated with the fact that they weren't closing in on a suspect. There were some possible ones, but all of them were clean. Their alibis checked out and Roy felt he was getting further and further away from the truth. They interviewed countless witnesses who may have been at the scenes, but the facts were always inconsistent. The witnesses left many gaps in their interviews and the description of the man they saw were always changing.

A loud slam on the desk startled Riza from her stupor. Blinking, she glanced over to her superior officer and watched him closely reading the articles that were pouring in about the murders. The military would not disclose any information concerning the murders and the suspects, except that the murders were done by an amateur alchemist. The Eastern City Gazette, with whatever information they had, decided to name this murderous man "The Reckless Alchemist."

"We're not getting ANYWHERE!" Roy fumed, crumpling the newspaper in his hands. Angrily, he tossed the paper in the trash can below his desk and stood up. "I don't know how long I can keep telling the victims' families that they lost their daughter, their sister and their niece!"

Riza watched silently, rather, painfully at Roy's own desperation. Roy Mustang was a man and he felt a responsibility to all these women to protect them. Some of them he may have known just from dating them, but Riza usually never brings up his personal life. She was used to separating their personal life to their work life. Even sitting there just by watching only his back, she could see a heavy weight on his shoulders the way he's hunching as he stood by the window. Riza hoped beyond anything else that she could help him remove that big weight, but she could tell he was still holding on to the idea that this was his problem and he alone would have to bear it. She felt it when Maes Hughes died and she felt it when Ishval was burned to the ground.

Just as she was about to decide to go up to Roy and comfort him, there was a knock on the door. "Yes?" Roy responded. Riza quickly withdrew herself back on her desk just as the door opened wide to reveal Falman with more news about the murders, no doubt.

"Sir! We have received word from a bar of a man that fits the description of the recent witness."

Riza glanced over at Roy, who seemed to now have a glow of hope in his eyes. He seemed to be back to normal and instead of desperation there was determination. Roy nodded calmly, his hands clasped behind him. "Good work, Falman. Which bar is it?" He put on his white gloves, getting ready to head on out.

"Sir," Riza spoke, standing up to follow him out the door. "What are you planning to do?"

"What else, Captain?" Roy quickly glanced at his female Captain as he gave quick nods at his other subordinates before heading out the door to his car.

Riza joined his side seconds later, closing the door behind her. "Sir, Captain Falman and I will go to the bar and investigate." She knew that even with his trust in her, Roy Mustang preferred to handle things on his own, especially when it came to him. After every murder, the same stroke of lines on the walls would be written: _**Bring me Roy Mustang**__._ With this idea in his head, she knew that Roy Mustang would even be too stubborn to pass on this search for the murderer over to her. She placed her hands on her lap, playing with the simple, silver ring on her right hand and her gentle, mahogany eyes stared into his sad, and rich jet black ones.

Roy turned his head away, removing his gaze from her face and stared down at the ring in her hand, surprised. Falman sat silently on the driver's side, listening in on their conversation and feeling the intensity between the General and his most loyal subordinate.

"Sir, Captain Falman and I will investigate the bar," she repeated.

"Fine." Roy paused for a moment to stare out the window, before stepping out of the car. "Get back here after you're done," the General ordered, before closing the door. He watched as the car drove away.

"Are you ever going to tell him?" Falman finally spoke after the car was minutes away from headquarters.

Riza glanced at the back of the other Captain's head and instead of responding, she stared down at the ring in her hand.

* * *

By the time they arrived, the sun was setting and slowly, people filed into the bar. Riza thought it would be best to dress up like a civilian so as not to look the part. Falman borrowed some for himself and for his fellow Captain from a woman friend of his living around the East City. Riza was curious about who the woman was, since Vato Falman was adamant on keeping her name a secret and what she looked like, but the blond woman chose not to bring up the subject any further.

Riza wasn't too happy when she tried on the civilian clothes that Falman decided to choose something that was not of her taste. It was a purple, long sleeve, button up shirt and even with the last button at the top secured it was still too low for her. She has to pull it up so the front would not show any cleavage. Her shirt was tucked underneath a pencil-style black skirt, which was too short, just above her knees and it hugged her figure, which made her very uncomfortable. By the time she decided to tell Falman to change his choice, it was too late. The man in question would be gone if she changed her mind now.

"Captain Falman. What is the description of the suspect?" the female Captain asked as she met up again with the other Captain by the car.

"He is described by the recent witness to be around mid 20's, dark hair, blue eyes and stands about six foot two with a muscular built. Other witnesses after her described the suspect to be wearing a black hooded sweater with dark jeans and black golf shoes." Falman paused as he peeked through the window first before turning to Riza."

Riza shook her head. "That could be anyone in this bar," she stated, untying her hair from a bun.

"We'll have to keep an eye out with anyone who might fit the description of dark hair and blue eyes." He paused and watched as a man they were just talking about joined the big crowd entering the bar. "Captain Hawkeye." Falman nodded at that particular man who seemed very suspicious. He went inside first and so as not to look too obvious, Riza waited a couple of minutes before following him.

The pub was packed, mostly by men hitting on the few women who were clearly there as the "entertainers." Riza felt out of place, but she decided now was not the time to rethink their plans. She entered quietly, her heels clicking on the wooden floor as she made her way to the bar. She sat down and spotted Falman standing at the corner to her right, his hands stuffed in his pockets. When he saw her, he nodded and turned his attention back to the crowded place, scanning the room around him.

"Any drink, sweetie?"

Riza looked up, startled by the fact that she was called 'sweetie.' She gave this time to examine the bar tender. He looked to be in his mid-thirties with short, black hair and, considering he worked at a bar, was wearing rather sharp looking clothes with a black vest and neatly ironed white collared shirt. "Um….tequila…neat," she responded finally.

He stared at her for a moment, curious that a woman, who dressed up more conservative than the other ladies in the room, would want a tequila. He figured she would like some kind of red or white wine, but it wasn't his job to question a person's drink preference. The bar tender shrugged and went to grab her drink.

"Tequila, eh?" came a voice beside her.

Riza glanced over to her right and noticed an attractive man with brown hair and green eyes. She knew it was impossible to roll out that he was a possible suspect. Any witness could have seen the murderer with dark hair and green eyes. She also could not roll out that the witnesses could be giving false information. Riza learned, through the many years in the military to be suspicious of everyone. "Yes, I like tequila," was her answer.

The man sat down beside her just as the bar tender arrived with her drink. Her new companion ordered a bottled beer. "It's very rare to see a woman drinking tequila these days," he continued. He grinned at her. "But I think it is quite attractive for a woman to be able to handle hard liquor."

Riza looked up, not really at the man, but was checking where the other Captain was. Falman was no longer in that same corner she saw him last.

"Are you waiting for someone?" was her new companion's question.

The blond woman stared into the man's eyes, although not really meaning to. It wasn't like she wasn't used to drinking liquor. She would drink every time she went out with Rebecca, but not really a lot. Riza's drink preference was usually a typical woman's drink like bellinis or white wine. However, Riza was also a lightweight. When she tried out beer for the first time and vodka on its own, after perhaps a half a pint, she already felt woozy. This time, the blond woman could feel the tequila kicking in very quickly. "N-no…Well…yes, she was around here somewhere, but I don't know where she went."

"Perhaps she decided to go somewhere else with someone?" the man suggested. "By the way, what's your name?"

Despite the alcohol, Riza could slightly keep her head straight to answer his question. "Joanna. Joanna Maine."

"Well, Joanna Maine. My name is Cain Sherrard."

Riza thought for a moment. _'Sherrard?' _she thought. She has heard that name before, but she could not quite put her finger on it. Before she could even utter something, Cain answered it for her. "You've probably heard of me. My father is Jefferson Sherrard. We own the oil company." When she didn't respond, he went on. "Anyway, I don't mean to sound like a snob, but I was sort of bored staying at home. My father is away on business trip to Reole promoting our company and I've heard so much about this bar so I decided to take a look."

She finally understood. For as long as she could remember, in the past two years, the Sherrard family pretty much owned perhaps two big companies in East City. They owned the only large oil company in the city and the mining businesses around Dublith, Rush Valley, West City and of course the East City. They provided jobs because of their company, therefore, had enormous popularity with all the people in Amestris. The Military had no problem with them, because they were taking care of the issues concerning jobless people. They had vast fortune and when it was known to the public of their ties around these cities, many threats were thrown to the family. They had to hire some military personnel to provide protection. At one point, because the main office for the Sherrard Oil Company was in East City, Roy Mustang had to send two of his best men to guard the building there. Of course, this did not include Riza Hawkeye.

Despite the popularity they had, the only other person who did not find favour in their family was Roy Mustang. Riza never really understood why, but she could guess that perhaps it was rare for anyone to look for jobs in the military. Many of those who were once in the military decided to take the easy way out and work with the company instead of reapplying with the State Military. He probably believed that he lost many good men that he could have recruited back with him. Luckily though, his four best subordinates could not be convinced and he was happy either way.

"So the Sherrards actually go to town without their escorts?" Riza asked, turning her chair around so her back was facing the counter. She was pretending to be interested in this conversation as her eyes scanned the room for Falman. She found him seconds later talking seriously with someone on the other side of the room.

Cain chuckled, slowly taking a few more sips from his beer, before he put it back down. "Nah. I think my parents are no longer worried there was a threat. Besides, we found a better way to keep threats at bay."

"Oh and what is that?" Riza glanced back at him.

The brown haired man shook his head. "If I tell you, then I'm gonna have to kill you." Cain took a few more sips and was finished with his bottle very quickly. He stood up and handed Riza a card with his name on it. "If you want to know, you can always look for me in the office and ask me again. Perhaps I could take you out to dinner sometime?"

Riza stared at the card in her hand. She has had many men always watching her from a distance every time she walked down the street. Many of them too Riza has heard from the women in the military had crushes on her, but nothing ever happened because she was always right beside Roy Mustang. There was also that time when King Bradley divided their team and she became his personal adjutant. None of them, however went anywhere. Her loyalty to Mustang was very strong and she felt having a relationship with any of the men who asked her on a date would betray his trust.

"What, are you dating someone?" was Cain's question when she did not answer.

Riza looked up, unsure how to answer. The men that asked her on dates weren't as charming as this man. It was easy for her to turn them down, but Cain Sherrard was the kind of man who wouldn't be easily turned down if she refuses. Before she could stop herself, she said, "N…no, I'm not dating anyone."

Cain grinned. "Well it's settled! How about I meet you again here tomorrow, same time?"

She wasn't sure why she was agreeing to this, but perhaps she was ready to give up. Perhaps she wanted to experience what a civilian woman feels like if she was treated like one. Riza was always in her uniform and deep down inside, she felt she could be herself in the outfit she was wearing.

After all, what was the harm in going on a real date with someone? Riza watched as Cain handed the bar tender his money, gave Riza a wink and decided to make his way up the stairs she never knew existed in the first place. She forgot that even the pub had an inn upstairs so people who were too drunk to go home could rest on their comfortable beds. She stared at the fancy card in her hand and almost forgot why they were in the pub the first place. Riza blinked and went back to reality and looked around again for Falman. When she spotted him standing by the door as if waiting for her, she walked over to him and stood beside him. "Did you find out anything?" she asked.

Falman shook his head. "Nothing. The witness that told me about the man is nowhere to be found and none of the people here have seen him."

Riza watched carefully and her eyes strayed over to the bar tender across the room. He seemed to be putting his stuff away, ready to leave. "Falman…the bar tender…." Remembering the description that Falman told her of a tall, dark haired man, she marched over to the counter quickly.

Falman followed suit without question and watched as Riza walked behind the counter and placed a hand on the taller man's shoulder. "We have a few questions for you," Riza asked. "You'll need to come with us."

The bar tender did not move, instead he glanced behind him to see the same blond woman with a firm hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, can I help you? You see, I abide by the rules to not date any woman that comes into my bar." He didn't seem worried or nervous. In fact, he was far too calm for Riza's own benefit. Slowly, he turns around and was surprised to see a man with Riza.

"What do you know about the Reckless Alchemist?" Falman asked this time.

The bar tender sighed, rolling his eyes. "I was the one who called you about it."

Falman and Riza looked at each other.

The bar tender's eyes were trained on the woman. "You see, the moment you sat down on the counter, miss…I knew you were military."

Riza said nothing. "It doesn't matter if you were the one who called us for the man, but you'll have to come with us to headquarters and we'll ask you more about what you know of the murders." The blond woman moved her hands to grab the man's arms, but before she could take hold of it, something hard hit her on the forehead. In mere seconds, Riza could not focus and the last thing she heard was the shuffling of feet before she fell unconscious.

* * *

A/N: *gasp* What just happened! Well, check back with the story for more chapters soon!


End file.
